Home Network Tips

I have two things I want to share with you about home networking — and for this I mean WiFi, because I don’t know who wastes their time running Ethernet anymore.

1.

Get a good router. I previously recommended Netgear Nighthawk routers, however due to security issues with those I have moved my personal network to UniFi, and I think it is just ok. I will say, I have not had to fuss with it at all since setting it up, which is awesome because setting it up was a bitch. If I had to start from scratch today, I’d get the AmpliFi stuff.

No matter what, buy good stuff and buy it once. It’ll last at least a few years (assuming you don’t care about having the latest whatever).

2.

Put your entire network on battery backup. It’s rare that the power goes out these days, but there have been a handful of interruptions to my area of late — lasting about two hours each time. My network, and thus my internet, stays up and online the entire time. Which means I can still work without burning through a data plan.

I keep my UniFi stuff, and cable model on a huge battery backup, I use this one, and it gives me about 180 minutes of backup time. An added bonus is that your network range is insane when the power is out, as there are no networks competing with yours. So, name your network aptly for such a situation to both confuse and annoy your neighbors. Suckers.

Those are my top tips.

Enjoy.

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